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The creativity of Perth-based illustrator Kelly Canby seems to know no bounds. She was a graphic designer, a florist and a painter, and she’s also got 25 children’s books to her name, all packed with fun story ideas and illustrated with sublime skill. Her intriguing characters are easy to relate to, and her style is ideal for children’s publishing, editorial and advertising projects too.

Born in London, Kelly moved to Australia when she was three. She was the girl at her high school who took all the art courses – fine, applied, theatre and more. Kelly is an artist who likes to be making things all the time, and she’s undertaken a range of challenging creative projects. In 2012, she created an illustration every single day and blogged about it, and she also cooked every recipe in Jamie Oliver’s 15 Minute Meals at a rate of one a day without fail.

The dark and macabre stories of Edward Gorey are one of Kelly’s inspirations, as well as 70s Disco, 30s Art Deco and the Woodstock era. Not many people know this, but 30 November is Kelly Canby Day. “I was speaking at a library in White Plains, New York about a book I had just published, and a State Senator turned up and announced it was Kelly Canby Day and awarded me a signed, sealed and approved certificate,” she says. “It means nothing to anyone else but my family and I celebrate it every year!”

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Kelly Canby

Overview

The creativity of Perth-based illustrator Kelly Canby seems to know no bounds. She was a graphic designer, a florist and a painter, and she’s also got 25 children’s books to her name, all packed with fun story ideas and illustrated with sublime skill. Her intriguing characters are easy to relate to, and her style is ideal for children’s publishing, editorial and advertising projects too.

Born in London, Kelly moved to Australia when she was three. She was the girl at her high school who took all the art courses – fine, applied, theatre and more. Kelly is an artist who likes to be making things all the time, and she’s undertaken a range of challenging creative projects. In 2012, she created an illustration every single day and blogged about it, and she also cooked every recipe in Jamie Oliver’s 15 Minute Meals at a rate of one a day without fail.

The dark and macabre stories of Edward Gorey are one of Kelly’s inspirations, as well as 70s Disco, 30s Art Deco and the Woodstock era. Not many people know this, but 30 November is Kelly Canby Day. “I was speaking at a library in White Plains, New York about a book I had just published, and a State Senator turned up and announced it was Kelly Canby Day and awarded me a signed, sealed and approved certificate,” she says. “It means nothing to anyone else but my family and I celebrate it every year!”

Training

Kelly majored in Illustration during her BA in Design at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia.

Approach

Working in ink, paint and coloured pencils, Kelly puts play at the centre of her process when developing both stories and illustrations. As she explains: “I constantly ask myself ‘what if?’. What if I made an illustration and then cut it into pieces and put it back together again? What if I combine these two rarely-seen-together colours in one illustration? It’s all play and experimenting and diving into the art of creating.”

Styles

There are two main styles in Kelly’s portfolio. One consists of tight pencil work with lots of fine detail and the other is looser, using washy inks. In each case, her characters and settings are fun, whimsical and easily relatable.

Client List

Allen & Unwin

Fremantle Press

Penguin Random House

Oxford University Press

Chronicle Books

Bloomsbury Publishing

Hinkler Books

Orion Publishing

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